Pondering and Procrastinating

These two could probably be one and the same thing, albeit not intentionally. But when it comes down to it, I still haven't got any further with sending my latest finished novel off to anyone to take a look at, and immediately get into a huge bidding war with several publishers vying for my literary affections. Ok, so not exactly, but we all have to dream a little (lot?), don't we?

I had all good intentions of sending it off a couple of a month's ago, heading out to the most local Waterstones to snap up a copy of the recently released Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2015 with the plan to look up a couple of direct publishers, to see what I could glean about them. I also wanted to take a look at which agents might be looking for novels in my genre. I was a little surprised therefore, not to find the original publisher I was thinking about listed. I wasn't too worried about this but still thought I'd like to take a look at some agents' listings before I made my final decision. And this is where things rather stalled.

I had all good intentions of doing this but I just haven't got around to it. There always seems to be something else to do - helping out my parents with a few things, something I always want to do as they have done so much for us in the past, and continue to do so, it feels good to be able to repay the favours whenever we can. We also had a friend being deployed so wanted to get together with them, before he flew off, dealing with some ongoing health issues and just the day to day, ins and outs of this thing called life.

I know that people say you have to just sit down and write and I know that - and I try and do that as much as possible. The health issues mentioned mean I rarely have as much energy as I could really do with to get everything I need to done. Some things have to get sacrificed. It took me a long time to realise that, and it's still hard and I don't always get it right but the important thing is to try. And try I will. I have to admit, the thought of traipsing metaphorically around the agent list once more doesn't exactly fill me with glee. I remember all those rejections last time. Although, I do take heart in that quite a few of them did have hand written notes on them saying nice things.

This weekend is a bit crazy, as it's Air Show season in the world of UK aviation and Advance Helicopters will be exhibiting at our home base of Shoreham. Feel free to cross fingers, toes, eyes and legs for good weather as it really helps bring out the crowds (the good weather, not the eye crossing!) and proceeds go to a great cause.

After that, amongst everything else on my ever growing To Do list is to sit and go through the yearbook and make a note of any agents who deal in my genre. I suppose, in the back of my mind, there is a nagging doubt of 'is it worth it', when all we hear is about tv 'celebs' being asked to write books whilst those of us who don't have such connections or fame are lying untouched in an email slush pile somewhere. Or am I being too cynical?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above and any tips you may have? It's quite a few years since I sent fiction out to do the rounds so I'm grateful for any helpful suggestions!

Happy writing!

Nearly There!

Yes, I am still editing the novel. You may remember in my last post that my 'first reader' - also known as hubby, was now doing his thing and finding all the mistakes. Well, that plan which worked pretty well in the past now no longer really fits.

Once upon a time, hubby worked in London and had an hour's commute on the train. This allowed time for a kip on the way up and any reading I needed him to do on the way home. These days he no longer works in London and so doesn't have that commute. He also runs his own business which means that work doesn't stop at the door. So, whilst he did try and do some, it was pretty obvious that it wasn't going to be the ideal set up.

After some pondering, I took over the job and once more am going back through the novel trying to winkle out typos and 'am-I-entirely-sure-that-makes-sense' moments. I'm nearly there. Probably about 30% left to go through, according the Mr Kindle.

I downloaded (uploaded?) the manuscript as a pdf onto the Kindle to make it nice and transportable, initially for hubs, but it worked pretty well for me too. I have to admit it's a bit fiddly noting down the sentence and what it needs to be changed to in the accompanying notebook but I'll see how it goes when I get to the transcribing part. I'll let you know! 

So, no great news but I thought I'd just give you an update on things. I'm itching to finish now but almost dreading it too because then it comes to the point where it has to go out into the big old world on its own and possibly get maimed by editors. But what can you do? I suppose that's all part of the process. And I know that. And I know that people like John Grisham and JK Rowling were turned out a tonne of times, just as most of us have been, but it doesn't make it any easier or less painful, if we're being honest!

I'll be back - hopefully soon - to say I'm finished!

I hope everyone else's projects are going well in the meantime and wish you lots of luck if you're in the sending out stage already!

Keep writing!

Can You Smell That?

Smell is the most evocative of all the senses, and yet it's the least used in fiction writing. However, if we concentrate on trying to include it, it can make a world of difference to helping place your reader in the scene.

For me, the smell of cut grass always transports me to a warm, summer's day, even if it's cold enough to turn you blue outside. And whenever I smell the 'Jungle Formula' insect repellent, my mind is instantly whisked across time and space back to some fabulous travel experiences in India and Malaysia years ago.

So, next time you're creating a scene, remember all the senses and use them accordingly. Don't overload your reader with pongs but don't forget them either.

Are there any particular smells that remind you of a particular time or place?

Happy Easter to you all!